Getty Malcolm Brogdon #7 of the Indiana Pacers warms up prior to their game against the Charlotte Hornets.
In a “perfect world,” Kendrick Perkins would like to see his former team make a run at prized free-agent Kyle Lowry this offseason. However, as he noted on ESPN’s The Jump, the current financial state of the Boston Celtics makes such a move fairly unrealistic. In which case, a consolation prize of Malcolm Brogdon would seemingly suffice as an ideal replacement for Kemba Walker in the C’s backcourt.
When asked by host Rachel Nichols what it will take for Boston to re-establish themselves as legitimate title contenders, Perkins responded by making a case for the Celtics to swing a deal to acquire the former Rookie of the Year from Indiana.
“I would actually consider trading Marcus Smart for Malcolm Brogdon. I would bring him in,” Perkins proclaimed. “I think he’s a guy that fits in well around the two guys that matter the most and that’s Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum. He’s a 50/40/90 guy. He knows how to play off the ball. You saw him when he was with the Milwaukee Bucks earlier in his career. We saw him with the Indiana Pacers and how he’s able to be a system guy. A guy that compliments them very well.”
“He’s making around $20 million a year, which he deserves,” Perkins noted. “He can go out there and get you 20 a night and he doesn’t need the ball in his hand. He also can run the point if you need him to. And he’s not bad on the defensive side of things.”
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Brogdon Believed to Be Available
Bleacher Report’s Jason Dumas recently reported that the Pacers attempted to unload their starting point guard and reigning leading scorer in hopes of prying Ben Simmons away from the Philadelphia 76ers.
“The Sixers have already fielded offers for Ben Simmons but continue to hold a stance that they will only trade him for an all-star caliber player,” Dumas tweeted. “They most recently turned down a deal with the Pacers that included Malcolm Brogdon and a 1st round pick.”
What Brogdon Offers
Technically, Brogdon isn’t an all-star player, but that’s not to say he isn’t on par with some of the better guards in basketball. One of the league’s more underrated talents, the 28-year-old is coming off a superb campaign where he averaged career highs in both points (21.2) and rebounds (5.3). The Virginia product also chipped in with 5.9 assists and 0.9 steals per game while shooting 38.8% from 3-point range.
Defensively, while maybe not to the All-NBA caliber of Smart, Brogdon is a quality defender with the size (6-foot-5-inch, 229 pounds) and movement skills to guard multiple positions. Offensively, while he did average 20-plus points this season, he’s not the same pure scorer that Walker, nor Kyrie Irving is. Then again, it’s not as if those two players worked out particularly well for Boston anyways. As Perkins noted, Brogdon’s a well-rounded player that can operate both on and off the ball with ease, a skillset that could pay huge dividends operating alongside ball-dominant wings Tatum and Brown.